Process of refining and preserving butter.



` Nb. 726,065.- PATENTED Amm, 1903.

` H. Isoovsca I,

PROCESS 0F RBPINING AND PRESERVING BUTTER.

APPLIOATION FILED AUG. 14. 1902;

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PATENTBD APR. 21, 1903 110.726,065. y H. IsGoVEso'o.

PROCESS 0F REPINING AND PR'ESBRVING BUTTER.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 14, 1902.

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UNITED STATES PATENT l OFFICE.

HENRI IsCovEsCo, "CE PARIS,I FRANCE,y AsSICNoR To SOCIETE FRANCAISE POUR LA CONSERVATION"DEsJREURREs, oF RoULoGNE,1sEINE, FRANCE.

PROCESS OFV REFINING AND PRESERVING BUTTER.

SPECIFICATION' forming part of Letterslatent No. 726,065, dated April 21, 1903. Application filed August 14, 1902. Serial No. 119,632. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it' mag/concern:

Be it known that I, HENRI IsCovEsCo, a citizen of the French Republic, residingin Paris, France, have invented cert-ain new and useful Improvements in Processes of Treating Butter, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to the treatment of butter for'relining it and removing from it the agents which tend to provoke rancidity and limit the length of time during which it may be preserved in a fresh and sweet condition. The process to which the butter is subjected and which will be here'- inafter described completely removes from the butter the casein, the albuminoids, and all the impurities contained in it and also the oxygen and carbn dioxid contained inthe butter and which render its preserva-tion in an unaltered state verydifcult. I

Brieiiy, the process consists in first fusing or melting the butter rapidly, then filtering it, then submitting it simultaneously te centrifugal treatment and washing in hoa'cuo, then emulsifying the ubutter 'in tacito, and

then pumping'it through'a refrigerator-coil to cool it. In washing 'the butteriitmaybe salted by using salt dissolved in the sterilized Water used for Washing.v

In order that my process may be the better understood, it willnow be described with ref-V erence to the accompanying drawings, ,which` elevation of the einulsifier. Fig. 4 is a side` elevation of the pump. Fig. -illustrates the refrigerator, and Fig. 6 isa sectional detail of the outlet portion of the pump on a larger scale than Fig. 1.

In carrying out the process ofthis application the following-described procedure is eni-Y ployed:

F in Fig. 1 is the melting apparatus. The butter is introduced at a hopper E and is 5o forced by a screw o. through a plurality of tubes t, inclosed in a suitable casin g t', through which flows -hot water, which enters at e and flows outat s. The tubes 11 being immersed `in hot water,- the butter will be melted in passing through them, thus being melted almost instantaneously. 1 The tubes t may be about eight millimeters in diameter. From the tubes t the molten butter ows into a collector C, of conical form, and passes thence by a pipe b to aiilter A, of metal gauze, suited to removeffthe coarser impurities. From the filter the butter iiows into the drum or bowl of a centrifugal apparatus H, provided with means forilnaintaining in its interior as perfect a vacuum as possible-say up to seventy centimeters, for example. This apparatus has a hermetic cover, with a supply-pipe b for the butter, a supply-pipe d for sterilized water, a skimmer-pipe c to remove the water, and a skimmer-pipe c to remove the butter.

While the melted butter is flowing into the drum of the centrifugal apparatus to be freed from casein sterilized water is also admitted through the pipe d and discharged near the drum-axis through an injector or distributer lo on the inner end of the pipe d. The Water in moving outward to the periphery passes through the mass of butter. and thoroughly washes it. If desired or necessary, the Water admitted to the/drum may be charged with alkaline or acid salts, which willA act chemie! ally on the butter. The Water is'iinallyvtaken out bythe skimmer-pipe c and the butter taken out by the skimmer c.

From-the centrifugal apparatus the butter passes by a pipe ftothe emulsier G, (seen in Fig. 2,) where it is lalso treated 'in lvacuo. This apparatus G is a metal vessel tinned or silvered inside and having rotatably mounted in it a shaft T, driven throughgearing D of any kind. p On the shaft T, nearthe bottom of the vessel, are oblique propeller-like blades g. The shaft T need not rotaterapidly. A speed of tWenty-ve to forty revolutions per minute will suffice. A

V is the cock at the outlet for air in forming the vacuum, and o is `the outlet for the butter at the center of the bottom of the vessel.

The butter passes from the outlet o to a pipe h, which connects with the inlet of a suction and force pump P, Fig. 4. This pump should be strong and be lined with tin IOO or silver. The joints should be packed with tin also wherever possible and leather for the purpose avoided.

The outlet or discharge portion B of the pump (seen in section, enlarged, in Fig. 6) has some special features. This portion B has the admission-passage il from the pump, a safety-valve u, a priming-cock m, a discharge-aperture s', and a pin-valve fr. The valve r is between the inlet i and outlet s' and may be regulated or set so as to more or less choke the Iiow of butter to the outlet, and thus create a pressure shown at the pressure-gagej, which pressure may vary in accordance with the requirements for the moment-from one hundred and fifty to two hundred and fifty kilograms. The higher the pressure the finer will the emulsion be.

The butter passes from the pump-outlet s to a pipe n, a part of which pipe is in the form of a coil in a refrigerator vessel or casing R, to which water enters atapipe h and flows oil' at a pipe o'. From the refrigerator the butter passes to the molds or suitable vessels.

In the operation about fifteen per cent. of sterilized water is introduced into the emulsiiier G with the butter. The rotating blades g serve to mix and emulsify the butter and Water, and suitable provision is made for maintaining the temperature in the emulsifier at a mean temperature not exceeding 27 centigrade. The pump P is primed by opening the cock at the bottom of the em ulsifler and, if necessary, the priming-cock m of the pump; but at the moment of priming the pump an inert gas, preferably nitrogen, is admitted to the emulsifier. ing through the portion B of the pump must be crowded past the pin-valve r and emerges as fresh butter. After being cooled by the ref ri gerating device it may be collected, molded, and prepared for market.

Where salt is added or dissolved in the wa- The butter in passn ter used in the process, an accurate distribution of salt through the mass of butter will be attained.

One of the essential conditions of my process which must always be observed is the absolute exclusion of oxygen and carbon dioxid from the butter during the operation. To effect this, either a vacuum is maintained in the apparatuses employed or an inert gas, such as nitrogen or hydrogen, is introd uced at atmospheric pressure to displace any oxygen, air, or carbon dioxid that may be present. It Will therefore be understood that by the term 1i-vacuo as herein used is meant the operation performed with exclusion of oxygen and carbon dioxid.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- 1. The herein-described process of refining and preserving butter, which consists in fusing the butternearlyinstantaneously atatemperature of about 35 centigrade and in a vacuum of about seventy centimeters of mercury, and then treating the molten butter mixed with sterilized Water centrifugally underthe same vacuum for the removal therefrom of the solid and liquid impurities, the time occupied in melting the butter not exceeding one minute, whereby loss of natural aroma of the butter is avoided.

2. The herein-described process of refining and preserving butter, which consists in first forming au emulsion of the purified molten butter with sterilized water n vacuo, and then submitting the mixture, while in a liquid state, to the inliuence of a refrigerating agent.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HENRI ISCOVESCO.

Witnesses:

EDWARD P. MACLEAN, GABRIEL BELLIARE. 

